SAN ANTONIO — The Spurs are back in the N.B.A. playoffs, because of course they are, and they appear primed to make a run at another championship, because of course they do.

On Saturday night, the festivities began with their cartoon coyote mascot banging an oversize drum at midcourt before player introductions, which is about as garish as this organization gets.

Then, even without Tim Duncan, who was the face of the franchise for 19 seasons, the Spurs went about their familiar business. Same high standards. Same defense-first approach. Same scowls from Coach Gregg Popovich. Same second-half run.

And same fans streaming to the exits, their title hopes as robust as ever, as another demoralized opponent retreated to the visitors’ locker room at AT&T Center to tackle a confounding riddle: How do you beat the Spurs?

Tony Parker, the Spurs’ longtime point guard, has seen it all before. Ahead of the Spurs’ convincing victory over the Memphis Grizzlies on Saturday in Game 1 of their first-round series, Parker was the subject of much concern on social media.

At 34, Parker had labored through an injury-riddled regular season. His production waned. Fans were worried. Parker said he was oblivious to it all.

“I don’t really read it, to be honest,” Parker said. “I got two kids. It’s a lot of work. I don’t have time. The only reason I know is because of you guys. You guys bring it up. I have no idea.”

Sure enough, Parker was the same (old) Parker in the Spurs’ 111-82 win. He crammed 18 points into 22 minutes of playing time, shooting 8 of 13 from the field. He defended the Grizzlies’ Mike Conley for long stretches and helped limit him to 13 points on 5-of-14 shooting. And then he sat on the bench, a spectator for the final minutes of a blowout.

“Just had some opportunities,” said Parker, using some of his finest and most familiar Popovichian phraseology.

As the playoffs move forward, and with the Spurs set to host the Grizzlies for Game 2 on Monday night, it seems worth pausing to emphasize the consistent excellence of this franchise. So many teams strive to resemble the Spurs. So many fail. The Spurs draft the right prospects. They invest in development. The players fall in line behind Popovich, and then they go out and win.

As Parker put it: “I only have one guy to please, and that’s Coach Pop. Everybody else, I don’t really care.”

Here are some statistics to consider, courtesy of the team’s communications department. The Spurs have the best winning percentage (.712) and most wins (1,133) during any 20-season stretch in league history. Second on that list are the Boston Celtics, who won 1,088 games and had a .685 winning percentage from 1956-57 to 1975-76.

The Spurs are also making their 20th straight playoff appearance, the longest active streak of any team in the major four North American sports leagues. San Antonio has not had a losing season since 1996-97, the one before they drafted Duncan. Since then, the Spurs have made six appearances in the finals and won five championships.

Parker, in his 16th season with the Spurs, has never known N.B.A. life without the playoffs. He has won four championships.

“I just feel blessed,” he said. “I feel lucky to be out there, competing at that level and still enjoying basketball.”

Parker missed 19 games this season with various physical problems, including a bruised quadriceps. He averaged 10.1 points and 4.5 assists, his lowest numbers since his first season in the league, while playing a career-low 25.2 minutes a game. But he said he could sense his game coming together ahead of the playoffs. In his final two regular-season games, he shot 10 of 15 from the field. He carried that momentum with him into Saturday’s game.

“I thought he felt pretty confident, and we love when he starts out defensively and takes pride in that,” Popovich said before offering his highest praise. “I thought he did a good job.”

The Spurs actually trailed by 13 points at one point in the first quarter. They outscored the Grizzlies by 42 the rest of the way. Kawhi Leonard, who led the Spurs with 32 points and shot 11 of 14 from the field, heard “M.V.P.” chants each time he attempted a free throw. (He made all nine of them.)

The Grizzlies, meanwhile, got 32 points from Marc Gasol. But they lacked any semblance of depth without the injured Tony Allen, a defensive stopper who doubles as the team’s motivational guru, and Chandler Parsons, who is done for the season after knee surgery.

“Well, that got ugly in a hurry,” David Fizdale, the Grizzlies’ first-year coach, said when he arrived for his postgame news conference.

San Antonio knocked Memphis out of the playoffs in 2013 and again last season. It appears likely to happen again, especially if Parker sustains his solid play.

He neither needs nor expects to be a focal point of the offense at this stage of his career. Instead, at his best, much like Duncan in his graybeard seasons before retirement, Parker is a steadying force for the team’s latest generation of stars, a firm hand at the helm.

“You’re talking about a Hall of Famer with a lot of pride, and this is his time of year,” Fizdale said. “That’s the one thing I’m stressing to my team, to make them understand who they’re facing.”

For one night, at least, Parker provided a reminder.

A version of this article appears in print on , on Page D7 of the New York edition with the headline: Spurs Open the Playoffs With Potent Familiarity. Order Reprints | Today’s Paper | Subscribe